In addition, Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, called Tuesday for an examination of the refinery’s safety record as a whole.

The latest in a string of accidents this year is not only raising doubts about ExxonMobil’s ability to operate the refinery safely, but the city’s capability of responding to emergencies there.

“I urge the U.S. Chemical Safety Board to look at not just the incident (Friday), but the entire safety operation at the refinery,” said Lieu, a former Torrance city councilman and state lawmaker. “I don’t remember in recent memory having this many incidents at the Torrance refinery in a matter of months, and the pattern is troubling.”

The latest breach, a leak that occurred about 6:10 p.m. Friday, is under investigation by regulatory agencies that include Cal/OSHA and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

On Tuesday via email, ExxonMobil spokeswoman Gesuina Paras gave the most complete account yet from the company’s perspective of the Friday leak.

“The Torrance Refinery experienced a release from its coker unit, primarily composed of steam with a trace amount of pitch — a material commonly compared to asphalt,” she wrote. “Due to its high density, the majority of the pitch remained within the unit, but a very small amount may have been vaporized into the steam cloud. This likely caused the steam color to be darker than usual, prompting early erroneous reports that the steam was smoke.”

Paras said air quality was unaffected.

‘Dodged another bullet’

She did not comment on a report by Bob van der Valk, senior editor of the Bakken Oil Business Journal, that “ExxonMobil dodged another bullet.”

The leak occurred in an 8-inch pipeline in one of the three heaters in the coker unit, he said via email to the Los Angeles News Group.

“Large streams of water were aimed at the leak to cool down the unit,” he wrote. “It was concentrated in the outlet header of the unit where pitch is heated up to 920 degrees under 300 pounds per square inch pressure.

“This leak, although minor in comparison, was similar to the event at the Chevron Richmond refinery on Aug. 6, 2012, where a release of flammable vapor led to a disastrous fire in their crude unit, which caused the refinery being closed down for repairs for almost a year,” he added.

Neither did officials with the AQMD or Cal/OSHA, who confirmed yet another investigation was underway but declined further comment.

City officials did not return messages left Tuesday seeking comment.

Plant notification questioned

Several residents have again criticized emergency responders and ExxonMobil for the paucity of information provided in the wake of the release.

Pam and Phil Brunette, who live near the intersection of Western Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard, said it was “unacceptable” residents were not informed about the release until about 90 minutes after it occurred. The couple said they could barely hear the refinery warning siren anyway and initially thought it was a passing fire truck.

“The call should have come immediately with a generic warning telling people that there’s an unknown problem at the refinery and another call will be made for the all-clear,” they said. “The 7:31 p.m. call said a cloud was seen as far as Western! If we can’t hear the siren and we’re in it’s path, we’re out of luck if it’s a serious emergency.”

Residents frustrated

Resident Betsy Vavrin was similarly frustrated with the lack of notification by city officials, which she believes is related to an even bigger issue.

“In the 30 years I have lived here, I have never felt the refinery to be a safety hazard,” she wrote via email. “I do now.

“We need a number of residents to attend the City Council meeting and insist the refinery is shut down, for the safety of the residents of Torrance,” she added.

The release follows on the heels of a leak of highly toxic hydrofluoric acid that occurred last month, one of more than 20 involving the chemical in just five years, according to Fire Department officials.

Cal-OSHA has said the company’s failure to fix equipment for almost a decade led to the Feb. 18 explosion.

Lieu noted that recent news stories also have contended that ExxonMobil not only knew about the effect of fossil fuel burning on global warming as far back as 1977, but that the company concealed its knowledge and attempted to profit from it.

“Exxon funded and publicly engaged in a campaign to deceive the American people about the known risks of fossil fuels in causing climate change,” he and another congressman wrote in a letter to the Department of Justice earlier this month. “If these allegations against Exxon are true, then Exxon’s actions were immoral. We request the DOJ to investigate whether ExxonMobil’s actions were also illegal. ”

Veteran journalist Nick Green is the beat reporter for the cities of Torrance, Carson and Lomita and also covers the South Bay's rapidly growing craft beer industry for the Daily Breeze. He has worked for newspapers on the West Coast since graduating in 1987 from the University of Washington and lives in Old Torrance with his wife and two cats. Follow him on Twitter @NickGreen007 and @BeerGogglesLA.

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